Electropneumatic piano-player.



A. R TRISTJ ELECTROPNEUMATIG PIANO PLAYER.

v APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1906; 94:1 ,432. Patented Nov. 30; 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVEN'TQR m v n-m'ESSES A. 11. TRIST. BLEGTROPNEUMATIG PIANO PLAYER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1906.

Patented N0v.30, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wl massss lNVENToR ATTYS To all whom may concern:

composition is effected in a simple and easily TRIST, or ST.--,ALBAT.\IS, EN LAND, assreuoa T0 mew PLAYER LIMITED, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

ARTHUR RONALD nLEornorNEUMaTrc IBIANQ-PLAYER. I

Beit known that I, 'ARTH R RONALD Tlus'r, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Albans, in the county of Hort-ford, England, have invented new and useful Improvements. in Electropneumat-ic Piano-Players, of which the following 1s a specification.

This invention relates to automatic piano I playing mechanism and the like; and has tor its ob ect the provlslon of meansfwhereby the accentuation of specific notes n any ability of effecting the accentuation of individual notes. Considerable eilort has been directed in the past to etlectthis object, however-without success. 1

My invention consists in the arrangement of electric mechanism by which the strength with which each note is struck can he moditied. The remainder of the mechanism may be of any Well known character.

In connection with each note I provide an electroinagnet or solenoid or other equivalent device which is energized by an electric current and is controlled in its action by the music sheet itself.

In order that my invention may be the bet-- ter understood 1 will now proceed to do scribe the same in relation to the accompanying drawings reference being had to the letters marked thereon. Like letters refer to like parts o'us figures,

Figure 1 pneumatic piano playing, device adapted according to my invention with electric means for controlling the strength of blow with which a given note is struck. Fig. 2 is a dein the vari- -tail.scctional view of the electrically-oper- Specification of Ietters Patent.

the conductor 6.

is a sectional view of a known are also controlling the duct 8 leadingfrorn the upper side of the ordinary pneumatic "valve 7'. Thevalve Z) is actuated by a col sconnected by conductors h and 2' with of electric current, for example 'a-magnae generator j. with a metal brush is arranged in the-air The conductor it is connected" I Y Patented Nov. -Appli c ation filed November 10,1906. Serial No. 342,891. if c? t source duct of the ordinary tracker mjflon theiipper side of the tracker a metal roller nfisfi arranged so as to press'upon and 'mttke a moving contact with therecord{sheet 0 and By reference to Fig. 2, a willbeseen-that the valve consists of a tubular body 3) adapted to slide within a cylindricalchamberand is connected by a stem 9 a a 1a gnaia core 7" disposed so as to slide in the center o'ftl'ie coil 8. When the valve p is drawn "suddenly by the magnetic core 1' into "unappeaposition, the communication bythe duct 0 with the ordinary governing/chamber t (where the partial vacuum created n I the pumping" bellows u maintained at a airlyj constant pressure by a known govern-i 1g device), is'closed and the duct 0 is opened to the power pneumatic a so that the high vacuum reservoir is in direct connnunicat-ion with the power pneumatic aso that a harder blow thereby.

and louder note is struck Referring to Figs. 3 and a; it will he no ticed that the music record sheet i the device cons rated tune sheet to having a layer a; oi foil or other electrical 'coi'iductor thereto.- A backing of paper 11 is the tin foil in order to protect the exposed strip of tinfoil being arrange: the edge of the music-record sheet on the roller a'bears so as to complete th trio circuit through the record at i obvious that the backing layer. I omitted without interfering with tl tion of the sheet, it being only necessary for protective purposes from nieazlninicai injury use "w ith.

the ordinary pert-otin till

' of the tin foil or other metallic layer.

The paper layer w of the re ird sheet is perforated in the ordinary w v with the usual perforations w through which the tin. foil layer is exposed. The perforations w are subsequently cut right lhrmlgh the record sheet at the beginning ofthe note to permit the air to enter the particular orifice in the tracker so that the said not-es (say forming the accompaniment) are struck softly and the notes are held on by the elecsame, an

, be thus seen that when a perforation '20 atthe beginning of a note comes over the tracker the ordii'iary valves of the pneumatic action are operated in the usual manner and the particular note is struck by means of the governed vacuum, the-dnrati m of such note can be controlled either by the length of complete perforation or by the exposed foil in the perforation. Any note unoerforated can be perforated at will by aperson desiring such note'to he softened in addition to the original perforations pro-- When an unpertorated v'ideil on the sheet. note viz: one where the tinfoil only is ex posed, comes into operative position the electrical circuit is completed, the valve p lifted, the orifice in the power pneimiatie is put into direct communication with the high vacuum of the reservoir; d; and the duct 1- is closed, thus pausing the power pneumatic to strike a hard blow and loud note. It will be readily understood that the function of the perforated and non-perforated parts of the record sheet together with the corresponding mechanism controlled by same can be re-' versed viz: the loud notes can be produced by the perforated notes and the soft; notes by It will sources of air supply at di erent pressures, a

pneumatic note actuating mechanism adapt ed to be actuated normally at one pressure of air, in combination with a perforated music record sheet having circuit-closing arrangements carried thereby, and an electric control device fitted to each orifice on the tracker, and to each note actuating mechanism and adapted to give a supply of air at another pressureto the pneumatic noteactuating mechanism when the electric circuit of the electric control device is completed by the n'msic sheet, substantially as doscribet v t i In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses v A.R'.I.IIUR RONALD 'lltIST. \lvitncssest (luAnmcs Uan'rmz, l l. l .l'/\ m nsoN. 

